


Revelations

by BWNR43



Series: Camelot Agency [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Merlin was reincarnated, kind of?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 05:17:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11456766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BWNR43/pseuds/BWNR43
Summary: How does everyone react to regaining their memories of generations of past lives as well as their places in the original legend? This story is a continuation of my 5 Times Merlin Was Too Late... story. You might want to read it first, but the gist is Merlin was reincarnated through time to try and find Arthur. This story is what happens when he does.





	1. How everyone else reacts

**_Gwen and LJ (Lancelot)_ **

The couple had been enjoying a quiet evening in with takeout and a movie. Gwen had won first pick of the DVDs, she normally did, so LJ was suffering through her latest chick flick obsession. The complaints were mostly for show, after five years of marriage, the man had developed an appreciation for the romantic comedy genre though it would be like pulling teeth to get him to admit it.

Mostly he spent the duration of the film thinking about how lucky he was to have found the woman curled up to his side. It was almost as if they were made for each other. An admitted romantic, LJ still wouldn't cop to believing in anything like soul mates, but if he did, he and his wife would definitely qualify.

He was contemplating getting a bit frisky with Gwen, he could get away with it sometimes if they had seen the movie before, when the blinding headaches made them both double over in pain. Lifetimes crashed into each other as waves of memories overtook them both. History had been kind to the sweet lovers, their lives were intertwined in almost every incarnation, and happily ever after was the rule rather than the exception when it came to them.

They had escaped the violent deaths their king was forced to endure, often dying in each other's arms like romantic cliches, surrounded by chubby, cherubic grandchildren who would fondly remember their beloved grandparents.

As the flashbacks slowed and their headaches receded the two held each other, mourning the loss of the kingdom they just began to remember. After frantic texts to Arthur, who'd have thought all those jokes about him being the old king had been spot on, went unanswered they figured he was dealing with the memories in his own way.

Neither knew exactly how or why their memories had returned, just knowing instinctively that this was the first and only time they were to be given this chance.

The two moved apart slightly to sit quietly side by side, their entwined hands the only connection in the silent room as they struggled to grasp the magnitude of their places in history. Emotions roiled under the surface but the couple had never been the type to dwell on the negative. Their thoughts echoed each other even as they separately came to the same conclusion.

Gwen broke the silence first, "Merlin. It had to be, I mean if we were reincarnated he had to have been too. He was so powerful, maybe he did this?"

Hope shined in her eyes, the servant turned court sorcerer had been her best friend and the possibility that he as well as the others they had already met in this lifetime were going to be reunited made the perpetually cheerful Gwen smile brighter than her husband had ever seen.

"Maybe," LJ, he needed to apologize to his parents for the grief he'd given them over his name, looked fondly at his wife, his voice husky with the combination of grief and joy associated with the craziness of the last hour. All those jokes about how much of a coincidence their names were and it ended up being real. He thought that they were both handling the revelation that they were the reincarnations of the Queen of Camelot and her Loyal Knight rather well, at least no one had run outside screaming or anything.

Gwen had turned at the sound of his voice, her eyes shining as she took in her beloved husband. As he leaned into her their friends were forgotten for the time being, and they fell together, celebrating the love that had bound them through the ages. Reunions could wait until the morning, tonight was theirs.

**_George (Gaius) and Gregory_ **

The two old friends were in a bar when the memories hit. Luckily, they had grabbed an out-of-the-way booth and the other patrons paid no notice to the regulars who quietly grabbed their heads in pain. Whether it was their age or simply their personalities, the men adjusted quickly to the wave of memories. A silent toast to the fallen Camelot was drunk and then the beer flowed as lifetimes were recounted.

Less tied to the heart of the legend, these two had much more variation in their pasts, but their career paths never seemed to stray too far from their original lives. Gaius was always a teacher in some capacity and Gregory could not be separated from his books, generally showing up as a librarian or in some cases a monk.

The two men had texted Arthur but after receiving no reply they were quite content to let the matter of the others rest until the morning, and bid each other warm and drunken good nights. Both chuckled as they returned to their respective homes, thinking of what the next morning's staff meeting at the Camelot Agency would be like with everyone now aware of their past selves. George thought that maybe he could actually be bothered to show up to the meeting, just to see the chaos.

**_Leon_ **

Having been kicked out of Morgana's bed a little after dinner time, Leon had headed to the bar with some of his friends for a bite to eat before returning home. Back in his flat, he settled into the couch to watch some crap television, one eye on his phone waiting to see if his moody girlfriend would forgive him so he didn't have to go to sleep alone tonight.

His mouth had gotten him into trouble, and not the good kind of trouble, with his lady earlier, which prompted her to banish him from her flat for the night. She may mock her stepbrother for his pompousness at times, but she could bring the royal ice just as well as the youngest Pendragon.

Speaking of Arthur, it was his fault Leon was digesting greasy pub food in a dark flat instead of take out in Morgana's posh place. Leon and Arthur were friends, but the man had made the mistake of mocking his mate's earlier obsession with the novelist M. Emerson to the co-director of the Camelot Agency during a break in the action and she had snapped into protective stepsister mode.

One lecture on how Arthur was a brilliant businessman and Leon should know to respect his gut instincts, no matter how crazy the blond prat was acting, later and Leon found himself on the wrong side of his girlfriends door with nary a goodbye kiss to be had.

The blinding headache flashed in the middle of a commercial and Leon fell off the couch in a mix of pain and surprise. His memories were bloody, too often paralleling the violence of his king's; a knight of old, his incarnations were just as likely to be fighters and early deaths dogged his progress through the ages. Shaking with the force of the wave of memories, Leon sat gasping on the floor for a few moments trying to catch up to the reality that he was a reincarnation of an Arthurian knight and his friends were living legends.

Blood drained from his face as that thought registered. He had been there to witness the destruction in Morgana-of-old's wake and feared for his what his lover would become with her memories reunited with her new self.

The magic that had allowed this moment to happen swirled through him, reassuring him like it did the king across town, that this version of the witch was without the corruption of her half sister. That comforted him for barely a minute before he realized exactly what his girlfriend would be going through right now. The king's ward was never a perfectly gentle lady, but prior to the poison of Morgause's influence, Morgana had been a kind soul.

His Morgana was prickly for sure, but held the same sweetness within and he could not imagine what the memories of her past self's betrayal of Camelot and her family would do to her.

He was out the door in seconds, thanking anyone who was listening that he had a key to Morgana's left over from their last on-again phase and praying that he got to the woman before her guilt and grief made her do something stupid.


	2. Morgana Remembers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little more angsty, see warnings in the notes at the end of the chapter.

**_Morgana_ **

Loose limbed and relaxed, even after kicking Leon out for his teasing comments toward her stepbrother, Morgana was debating how long she should make the man stew before forgiving him. After all, it was a punishment for her as well to sleep alone when the agency's head of security was perfectly willing to warm her bed.

Morgana inwardly winced at the casual turn of phrase, Leon was more than something to pass the time, a fact that was becoming more apparent as their off-again periods became shorter and spaced farther apart.

Leon had been the first to admit to real feelings between them and his "I love you" was the reason for their latest break up. She might be a tiger in the boardroom but in her personal life, Morgana was out of her depth. Arthur had pointed out after the last split that Leon's ability to make her nervous was proof of the dreaded L-word, but she had scoffed at him and then mocked his flavor of the week.

If her stepbrother realized how deeply his words had affected he would never let her hear the end of it, his easy assessment of her love for the man had shaken her.

Thinking it over she had recently come to the conclusion that even if she wasn't ready to say the words to him, that didn't mean she couldn't admit to herself she loved Leon. Luckily for the selectively timid woman, Leon was happy to come back to her without his words being reciprocated, although he had warned his lover that having finally gotten up the courage to tell her how he felt he was not going to be avoiding the words just because they made her skittish.

They had reunited just a few days ago and since the reconciliation Morgana found that she actually wanted to tell him how he felt, and not just when he was naked in her bed. It had almost popped out earlier that day when he showed up before the meeting with coffee and her favorite, a chocolate croissant.

His smile and peck on the lips before heading to his office to grab the necessary paperwork for the meeting had thrown her for a loop and she almost called out to his retreating form. Catching herself Morgana decided that the words deserved some fanfare, and resolved to get them reservations to a fancy dinner sometime in the next few weeks, resolutely ignoring the voice in her head that said her procrastination smacked of cowardice.

Shaking those thoughts away, the woman finished some leftover pasta, and then poured herself a glass of wine to enjoy before taking pity on Leon and allowing him to grovel in person. Walking barefoot to the sofa, the woman gasped and dropped her glass of wine as the blinding headache hit, ignoring the blood red stain forming on the white carpet to clutch her head.

Her memories were far from kind.

She was forced to relive her crimes from the first life, seeing herself half mad with power as she usurped Uther's throne. The loss of Morgause had been mourned only until the blonde witch's poison bled from the darker sister's system and the realization of her betrayal of Arthur had snapped something inside the king's ward.

Merlin had never been able to discover what happened to the female Pendragon after she escaped with her half-sister's body but this era's Morgana had to witness the truth of her first death. She felt the despair course through her past self until it consumed the witch and caused her to end her life in a blaze of the same fire that had first alerted her to her gift.

Shaking with grief and guilt Morgana had no chance to recover before the memories of her many incarnations flooded her mind. Fortunately Morgause had never reappeared in her lifetimes but the damage her half-sister had done could be seen in the desolation that followed Morgana's lives. It seemed that she was paying penance for her crimes in each generation.

Early incarnations were often mad, her mind unable to handle the unexplainable grief that plagued her. Many times she felt the flames as her fiery death was repeated, now at the hands of others who believed her in her insanity to be a witch.

Her magic had never returned to her, another punishment for her part in the path to the destruction of Camelot so she had nothing to protect her from the angry mobs that screamed for her death.

Avalon's residents took pity on the former witch, and with each death by fire the insanity was burned away a little at a time. Her incarnations no longer showed the paralyzing cracks in their psyches, but her penance was not over. New lives were sane but still full of grief, as if she was not allowed happiness while the brother she'd betrayed was still lost in time.

It was a painful slide show that Morgana could not shut off. She watched as her past lives succumbed to a laundry list of terrible things, drugs, depression, suicide, homicide, her sobbing could not drown out the cries of her memories.

The last life she led was the only one to give her any real hope. She had lived until old age, she had no lover or children to share her last days with, but neither was she in despair. Friends had been at her last death bed and while her last thoughts had been of regret, it was not a truly bitter regret. She had mourned the fact she'd not been allowed the chance of love with a young man who had died in uniform, far away from the dark haired girl in the battered picture he kept close to his heart.

When the waves of memories finally stopped Morgana was curled up in a ball halfway between the kitchen and the living room. Her sobs slowed, more from exhaustion than a lessening of grief. She mourned for Arthur, her beloved stepbrother in this life, not knowing how he would be able to look at her with the ghost of her betrayal dogging her every step.

She knew that the king had regained his memories, though she didn't know how. She didn't know if she felt like running to beg his forgiveness or to hop on the nearest plane and get as far away as possible from the friends who she could not imagine forgiving her, her past self, whatever incarnation they saw when looking at her.

A frantic knocking on her door made Morgana leap to her feet and start to the door before stopping. What if it was Arthur? She did not think she could face her step sibling right now, not with the wound of her memories so fresh. Steeling herself like the lady she had been and the co-director she was, this multiple memory thing was going to be tricky, she looked through the peephole and saw the one person she hadn't expected.

Leon, knight, head of security and lover was outside her door looking frazzled. He called out to her.

"Morgana, I know you are there. Open this door or I swear to god I will break it down."

Morgana swallowed heavily, there was no anger in his tone and every atom in her body screamed to open the door so her lover could hold and comfort her, but the memory of her original betrayal of the knight's master made her hand shake as she flipped the locks, uncertain of which Leon would be in front of her.

As soon as he heard the locks turn the man threw the door open, slamming it shut behind him and grabbing the stunned woman up in a fierce hug in a moment. The quick and easy display of affection broke the fragile control Morgana had managed to build and she broke into sobs again.

These were happy tears though, she had realized she loved the man before now, but his quick acceptance of her even as his memories told him she was not to be trusted just reinforced the need to let him know.

"I love you, thank god you aren't mad. I thought... I didn't know what to think... Oh god what I did... To Arthur, to you all, I can't imagine how you could forgive me. I love you. I'm so glad you are here, I didn't know what to do." Hiccups broke up her ramblings as the man holding her stroked her hair and murmured comfortingly into her ear.

"That wasn't you, even then it wasn't you. We couldn't see it now but hindsight's twenty-twenty or the magic did something or something else, but I see now. You were never the same after Morgause and we should have realized, should have seen."

He took a breath and lifted her chin to look into her watery eyes, "Not that it matters, reincarnated legends of old or not, I love  _you_. The woman who wore fuck-me pumps to interview me for the head of security position and smacked her brother when he gave me the once over before doing the same thing two minutes later. The woman who puts way too much sugar in her coffee and ran away the first time I said I love you and don't think I didn't notice you said it back."

At this a large grin overtook his face and he stopped speaking to just look at the woman he loved for so long and who finally admitted to loving him back. He could see the memories had broken her, or at the very least cracked that hard exterior she built as the co-director of The Camelot Agency.

He wouldn't wish those memories on anyone, her grief was too deep to make him think that her incarnations had faired better than the original, but at his declaration of his feelings he saw the light return to her eyes, dimmed but still there and he knew that his Morgana would recover.

"No one is answering their phones, I think we should just leave it until tomorrow if that is alright with you?" He kept a close eye on her reaction to his mention of their friends, he knew it would be hard for her to face them but she wasn't the witch that had betrayed them and the sooner they all realized that the better.

The dark haired woman winced, she did not look forward to the first meeting with everyone. She was not the evil witch that plotted the destruction of Camelot but she wasn't sure how well their friends would be at recognizing the difference when their faces were identical. Leon's comforting presence calmed her and she fell back into what she knew best. A seductive smile crossed her face and she opened her mouth just as Leon started speaking.

"Now, Kitten, not that I wouldn't very much enjoy whatever ideas put that look into your eyes but we've had a rough night, I think going straight to bed and getting some sleep before tomorrow might be for the best." He smirked at her pout, but she knew he was right.

Leading the way to her bedroom the normally confident woman looked back hesitantly, "You'll be here, when I wake up, I mean?"

The quivering of her voice nearly broke his heart. Realizing she needed some reminder that they were still the people they had been a few hours ago before the memories hit he allowed a predatory smile to spread over his face.

"Oh you are never getting rid of me now. You love me remember?"

Morgana tried to look indignant but her face wouldn't cooperate and broke out into a huge grin without her permission. She just shook her head and continued to her bed, quickly getting under the covers and relaxing as Leon, after shucking his jeans and button up, curled himself around her. Her heart swelled with love for the man, even if no one else could separate her past from her present she had him, and for tonight that was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief mention of suicide. If you skip this chapter, the story will still make sense and/or message me and I can summarize.


	3. The boys get their heads out of their...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur and Merlin are processing a thousand lifetimes of missing each other.

Arthur was still holding onto Merlin minutes later, and while the warlock was loathe to push the king away, they were beginning to draw attention to themselves.

"It's alright Arthur, I'm here and I am not going anywhere, now do you want to grab dinner or," The wild look in Arthur's eyes at the thought of sharing Merlin with a roomful of strangers, even if they both were starving made the warlock purse his lips and look around frantically for a taxi of some sort.

Arthur had always been possessive, even in the first life when the two men had been... well not  _just_  best friends but nothing had ever been said, they had foolishly believed they had all the time in the world. If they had known maybe they would have been quicker about  _getting their heads out of their arses_ as Gwaine had constantly complained to Merlin.

Shaking the melancholy thoughts from his head, he did wonder how far the reincarnations went and if Gwaine did exist in this world, Merlin hailed a taxi and shoved the still dazed Arthur in the car.

Arthur seemed to snap out of his trance and barked out his address to the driver before turning in the seat and yanking Merlin back towards him. Merlin was no more graceful in this body than he had been as a servant and couldn't prevent himself from sprawling across the royal's lap with the force of his pull.

The taxi driver was not amused and told them "to save the shenanigans for when he dropped 'em off."

Merlin blushed fiercely and sat up, trying to scoot back to his side of the seat but Arthur had a firm grip on his upper arm and kept them next to each other their thighs and hips touching as Merlin finally made eye contact with the other man.

"Arthur..." The emotion in the king's eyes was like a punch in the gut to Merlin. He had often fantasized about this meeting, the circumstances shifting with the ages but the man in front of him's reaction being constant.

Merlin had expected Arthur would be amazed, excited, confused, the list went on but he had never expected Arthur would look at him with something in his eyes that Merlin refused to name. Even being appointed court sorcerer had not driven the self-doubt from the warlock, and he had never really been able to believe Gwen or the knights when they exasperatedly assured him that  _yes the king cares for you and no he won't say anything because if you're right about anything it's that Arthur is a clotpole._

Merlin shoved those thoughts to the side to concentrate on the man beside him who was still breathing heavily from the weight of the returned memories.

The silence in the car stretched out, but it wasn't awkward. The two men used the time to take in every detail of the other,  _itsbeensolongsoverylong,_ this reincarnation was almost identical to their former selves, most people from Camelot would not have been able to tell the differences apart from the clothing. But these men had been the best of friends and spent most of their waking hours together.

Arthur noticed that the blue in Merlin's eyes was a little darker and his ears a little smaller,  _made them almost normal sized_  he thought with a small chuckle. Merlin noticed Arthur's hair was the same gold but his eyes were more of an emerald green. The king's face was less weathered, the lines he had already formed as a young man in Camelot not present on this new visage. They catalogued the changes time and new lives had wrought on their friend as they drew nearer to their destination.

The taxi pulled up outside Arthur's house,  _more like a palace some things never change_ thought Merlin _._ Paying quickly, Arthur reached toward Merlin to drag him inside, this time grabbing his hand instead of his forearm. Merlin was a little shocked at the gesture even though they had been publicly embracing not very long ago, but he caught himself and quickly intertwined their fingers as the blond man led him to the door.

Arthur fumbled with his keys, agitation and emotion making his hands shake. He finally got the door open and pulled the other man inside. Dropping his keys on the side table he spun to see Merlin just inside the door, staring at him like a man dying of thirst who had just found water.

"How many lives?" Arthur cursed his question as soon as he saw the pain flash across the warlock's face.

He knew that this wasn't the first time Merlin had tried to find him, the memories were still unsettled in his mind but he could see flashes of a dark haired man holding his hand after he had an accident with a horse and again at his bedside in a hospital during an influenza outbreak. His heart broke as he realized how close they had come before and he wondered how many times Merlin had had to see him die.

He wasn't sure how the man in front of him was still standing there, it wasn't fair but Arthur knew that he could not have done what it was apparent the warlock had. Arthur couldn't bear to think of his best friend dying in front of him or of being just minutes or seconds too late to save him.

"Too many. But that doesn't matter anymore. You're here, and Gwen and Lance and Gaius, Leon. I saw your website. The Camelot Agency, I couldn't believe it, how perfectly it lined up this time. I wasn't, I wasn't even looking for you I'm so sorry, I would have found you earlier if I had been. But I just needed some time for myself, it'd been so long and I'd missed you so many times, I wasn't slacking, I," Merlin's rambling distracted him from the fact that Arthur had moved into his personal space.

"Don't apologize. I cannot imagine what you went through, although I hope, at some point when you feel you are ready you will share it with me. And yes, the others are here," Arthur's thoughts went to his stepsister, the magic that restored the memories assured them it wasn't the witch who had betrayed him but he knew it would be hard to see her again, but that wasn't important now. "but I don't care about them, I mean I do but not right now. Not when you are in front of me. Alive and well and  _here._ "

Emotion choked up the king, there were so many things he had never had a chance to tell the dark haired man in front of him. So many things he thought he'd have a lifetime to show him, he hadn't thought he'd die before he ever had a chance to tell his friend how much he cared.

Merlin seemed to sense that Arthur couldn't continue speaking. Neither of them had been any good at telling each other how they felt, to the continued frustration of those around them, but the men had shown their deep friendship in their actions, Arthur would not have sacrificed his life for any servant as much as he truly believed the people of his kingdom were equal. He hoped that this time, this life, they'd have the chance to be honest with each other.

But neither of them were ready for that tonight, the emotional storm of the returned memories still roiled beneath the surface and they both needed sleep.

Merlin suggested they retire and Arthur's relief was evident. The warlock was trying not to be offended by how happy the former king appeared to be about avoiding the conversation, mostly because he too was not willing to take the step they'd never managed in their former lives. The blond man jerked his head to indicate that Merlin should follow him as he led the way upstairs.

Arthur turned into the large bedroom at the end of the hall and paused inside the doorway when the other man hesitated. The royal grimaced, he didn't want Merlin farther away from him now than necessary but the situation was awkward at best. Their former selves had shared beds at taverns and bedrolls while camping but with their new lives came new boundaries and neither of them wanted to push when they weren't sure how the other would responded.

Arthur cursed his former self, what kind of king was too cowardly to tell his friend how he felt? If they had declared themselves then, this wouldn't be such an issue.

Merlin swallowed deeply, he did not want to let Arthur out of his sight now that he had his king back but he didn't want to crowd the man either.

Realizing the warlock was waiting for him to make a move Arthur sighed deeply and held out his hand.

"Come Merlin, we need to sleep and my bed is big enough to share." Hope shined out of the blond man's eyes as he pleaded with his friend not to leave him now.

"I hope this new version of you doesn't snore." Smirking, he ducked as Arthur made a half-hearted attempt to swat him upside the head.

"Cheeky bastard. Anyways, extra toothbrushes in the cupboard in the bathroom. Do you need clothes to sleep in?"

"Shirt would be nice." Blushing, the younger man took the proffered shirt and ducked into the bath to get ready for bed, trying not to picture his friend changing on the other side of the door. He quickly shed his nice clothes and pulled the borrowed shirt on sniffing it,  _imnotagirl,_  before gripping the edges of the sink to stop his hands from shaking.

He must have been there too long because Arthur hesitantly knocked on the door. His quiet "Merlin" sounding so unlike the brash royal Merlin was used to he cringed. They were going to have to talk before this awkwardness became permanent, but exhaustion made his limbs heavy and sleep was too tempting right now.

"I'm here." Those two words held much power and Arthur visibly relaxed as Merlin scooted out from the bathroom and slipped into bed, not making eye contact with the other man.

Arthur sucked in a breath at the sight of Merlin in his bed, quickly striding to the other side before he could lose his nerve. He pulled back the blankets and slipped in, turning to face his friend and opening his mouth to speak.

Merlin interrupted before Arthur could get a word out, "Sleep, we will both be here in the morning and I am exhausted." Smiling the dark haired man followed his instincts and curled into the prince's side, his arm around the man's torso,  _notcuddlingnotagirl._

Arthur stiffened in surprise then quickly relaxed and pulled the other man even closer, wrapping his arms around him and murmuring his agreement.

Their bent heads shared a pillow, light and dark, two sides of the same coin, reunited.


	4. Debriefing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet interlude before the actual staff meeting.

Merlin woke up slowly, the warmth from the body next to him making him curl closer.  _Arthur_ , Merlin's eyes snapped open as he remembered the events of last night. He propped himself up on an elbow and smiled as he took in the figure next to him.

The CEO was deeply asleep, a half smile on his face that the wizard hoped he was the cause of. Merlin ran his hand through the blond's hair lightly, caressing the man's head, unable to break the physical contact between them. His hand trailed down Arthur's arm, his fingers brushing the edge of his sleeve before trailing down to his hand. Merlin entangled their fingers, squeezing enough to wake his friend. They needed to talk and hopefully before the man lost his nerve.

The other man stirred lightly, eyes opening halfway to take in the warlock's face above him. Half asleep and  _so damned glad to see him,_  Arthur reached up a hand and brought Merlin down to him, lightly brushing his lips against his best friends, refusing to back down from what had been simmering between them hundreds of years ago and last night.

 _Why didn't I think of that_ , Merlin chuckled softly as he kissed back, _this is the best way to wake up_. The kiss stayed light and sweet, they needed to talk before taking anything farther but both of them relished the contact after the maelstrom of emotion last night.

Arthur groaned a bit as he pulled away reluctant both to end the affection and to get to the inevitable conversation. He rested his forehead lightly against the dark haired man's and looked him in the eyes. The emotion he saw in their blue depths humbled him, he knew that Merlin had lived through unimaginable things to find him but it didn't register until he saw how ancient his friend's eyes appeared.

"Thank you, thank you for finding me, for thinking I was worth finding in the first place. I know you could have ended it at some point. I have enough flashes of a dark haired man by my side at the end to know you had to watch me die more times than you ever should have. I'm not sure I could ever have been strong enough to see you... to see your deaths and keep going."

Merlin put his fingers against Arthur's lips, silencing him before gently saying, "Shh, of course you were worth finding, and even knowing what I went through I would still do it all again. It was the least I could do for you, my king..." he paused, taking a deep breath and continuing, "my love."

The words seemed to cause an irreversible shift in the universe. Their original selves had never managed to declare their feelings, pinned in by expectation and society as well as fear that admitting it would somehow ruin what they had.

The men had only been able to express themselves in long looks and brief touches, never going farther because they believed they had all the time in the world. That dream had been shattered by an angry, evil man whose hate had poisoned him against everything and everyone.

But now they had the chance to put that behind them, Avalon's gift was a second chance and neither of them were willing to squander that gift.

Arthur's eye were wide after Merlin's declaration and he took a moment to bask in the warmth those words brought to him. The CEO noticed the other man had tensed up and realized he hadn't said anything for almost a minute and Merlin must be worried about his silence.

He framed the man's face with his hands and looked straight in his eyes as he finally spoke in a voice husky with emotion.

"I love you too, I always have and I always will. I was stupid not to say anything then and I refuse to be a coward now. Merlin Emrys, M. Emerson whatever your name whoever you are, you are my love and we will  _never_  be parted again. I swear on my kingdom of old and my company today, I will do whatever it takes to keep us together."

Merlin swallowed deeply, more affected by that speech than any he had ever heard. When he had first come to Camelot it had been very hard for him to believe that the blond, pratty prince was the future king he was destined to protect. And then Ealdor happened and Merlin had seen the first glimpse of the leader Arthur was going to be.

His speech to the villagers was proof that he had what it took to inspire knights and peasants alike to follow him to the ends of the earth if that was what it took.

He bred fierce loyalty in his followers as a king, and as Merlin would come to see, and as a CEO. That core of strength was the same and the warlock knew Arthur would keep his promise, even as he made a silent vow to himself that he would also protect this fragile relationship with everything he had.

The two men were curled up together, legs intertwined, chests touching and hands holding hips and heads, trying to get as close as possible to the other. They lay their smiling goofily, simply appreciating the ability to do this, to hold each other and not worry what might happen.

The phone rang shrilly, shattering the silence and making the two men jump apart. Arthur went right back grabbing Merlin's hand and tugging him in for a quick kiss, reassuring himself that he was allowed to now, before grabbing his phone.

"Pendragon, and this had better be important." he knew he sounded pissed off and hoped to god this wasn't one of his touchier clients that would get upset.

"Hey boss," Arthur visibly relaxed as he heard LJ's voice, "we having a meeting this morning, I uh, think it might be a good idea, with the you know... Oh fuck it, we know we are reincarnations of people from Arthurian legend and I think we all need to get together and talk. Ow, Gwen don't smack me, cussing is totally appropriate in this situation."

LJ's boss chuckled heartily, glad his friends seemed the same, Gwen smacking LJ for being inappropriate happened rather often in and around the office.

"Yeah, about that," Arthur paused and looked toward Merlin. The warlock stood up and slinked,  _slinked is really the only word for it,_  over to him, wrapping his arms around the blond's waist and resting his chin on his shoulder.

"Who is it?" came the dark haired man's sleepy voice.

A shrill scream came through the phone, Gwen had been on the other line and hearing her friends voiced confirmed her suspicions about why all of a sudden they remembered.

"Merlin, omg that was Merlin and don't try and tell me it wasn't I know my best friend's voice. Put him on the line right now, Arthur Edward Pendragon, or so help me God!"

Arthur winced at the volume and pulled the phone away from his ear. Taking in Merlin's deer-in-the-headlights look Arthur made up his mind.

"Gwen, chill. Yes it's Merlin, yes we need to talk, but not at the office. Why don't you round everyone up and meet me at my house for breakfast in an hour and a half. Pick up some bagels at Mary's on the way and don't show up early or I won't let you end."

He listened to her attempts to argue before growling into the phone, it wasn't mature but it tended to work. LJ obviously realized he boss was serious because Arthur heard a short struggle as he took the phone from his wife and then a quick see ya before they hung up. He spared a moment to cringe at the reaction Gwen would have to that before turning in Merlin's arm and hugging him tightly.

"They are coming over in a bit. I suppose I should clean up." His voice was hesitant and he looked a little embarrassed as he checked to see how Merlin responded.

Merlin laughed inwardly, the grown man had an expression more fitting for a little boy as he realized he should have checked with the warlock first before having people over. Merlin tried to remember what little he had seen of the house last night and made an executive decision.

"Hmm, seems clean enough to me." he pulled his lover closer, "and I can think of better ways to spend an hour." His blue eyes went dark with desire as he nipped Arthur's bottom lip, knowing Arthur needed to relax before dealing with his friends,  _their friends._

Arthur's knees went weak and he surrendered to the other man's ministrations dragging him back to his,  _their_  bed, making up for  _so much_ lost time.


	5. And everyone finally talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lives are discussed, memories assessed, everyone gives the boys a hard time.

Exactly an hour and a half after the call there was a knock on Arthur's door. The blond regretfully untangled himself from where he and Merlin had been cuddling on the couch after they'd grabbed a quick shower.

"You might want to brace yourself, I have a feeling Gwen's hug is going to be akin to a football tackle."

His eyes were soft as he looked back over his shoulder at his lover.  _Lover, my lover, I cannot believe I get a second chance with you._ He promised himself he wouldn't let a day go by without making sure Merlin knew how much he loved him.

There was more frantic knocking on the door and Arthur chuckled, wondering if Gwen would explode if she had to wait much longer. With one more glance back to make sure the other man was ready, he took a deep breath and opened the door.

And jumped back as the blur that was his friend practically shoved him out of the way in her pursuit of Merlin. The blue-eyed man had his arms open to catch the former maid as she through herself into him. The pair just held onto each other not speaking. Arthur thought his saw the shine of tear tracks on Merlin's face and turned to LJ to give the friends some privacy.

"So did you catch the game last night?" The former knight had a shit-eating grin on his face. "What, it was that or open with how I've already ordered you a custom made crown from a medieval artist. It's shiny just like you like 'em,  _sire_."

"Prat." The blond laughed and smacked his friend on the back, "and there had better be jewels, big ones. This is weird, yeah? I still have a headache, don't know how Merlin does it."

Arthur winced in sympathy, he wasn't sure how many lives the warlock had gone through but he was still having trouble with just the two main ones. The lives in between then and now were hazy at best and didn't seem to be more than faint dreams, but the original memories and their current ones walked side by side. Even looking at LJ he had this freaky kind of double vision.

He saw one of the best talent agents he'd ever met in a t-shirt and jeans standing in his living room, but he also saw a battle scarred, older knight in armor on a field. It was going to take some getting used to, but Arthur was glad he had the chance to try.

The two former servants finally parted, turning towards their respective partners. Their eyes were both shiny with tears and their grins were wide. Gwen walked over and pulled Arthur into a quick hug.

"Oh, so now you acknowledge I'm here. I see how it is." He hugged her back before going to answer the door.

Once again Arthur got shoved to the side as Gaius/George …  _again that'll take getting used to,_  raced inside before stopping short an arm's length away from his former apprentice.

"Merlin my boy, I assume this," he gestured vaguely to the occupants of the room, "is your doing? Can't say I know how you managed it but it is good to see you again."

"Gaius, I have missed you too." The warlock pulled the older man into a hug, more tears flowing down his face.

Gregory let himself in bypassing the quiet CEO who seemed lost in thought with one hand still on the doorknob and eyes fixed on Merlin. The older man walked over to Gwen and LJ who seemed to be dividing their attention between Arthur and Merlin and gossiping quietly. LJ looked concerned as his friend and boss seemed distracted, not without reason but still.

Arthur was getting jumpy, people kept getting in between him and Merlin and all he wanted to do was grab the man and drag him to privacy. He knew it was stupid and seeing the joy on Merlin's face at reuniting with all their friends was something he would treasure but he was… jealous. When he realized he was pouting like a child the former king shook his head and started chatting with Gregory about the company, keeping Merlin in sight at all times as the dark haired man spoke with his mentor.

He wondered how long this feeling would last, he wanted Merlin right next to him, wanted to be able to touch him to prove to himself that this second chance was real. It felt a little like he was going crazy, but it wasn't necessarily bad.

Having someone to be crazy about was actually nice, his former self had never let him get this far, care this much. The king had been all too good at keeping himself in check, reigning in desires and wants in order to be the person his kingdom needed. Being able to let go, to not care what other people think was freeing. Arthur wanted to shout it from the rooftops but was smart enough to realize that he should consult with his partner before outing them.

Speaking of Merlin, Arthur once again found himself checking on his lover only to find the man right next to him. He jumped a little and Merlin laughed, the generally clumsy man almost never got a drop on the former king and he wasn't too mature to take delight in his startling.

A warm hand grasped Arthur's shoulders lightly, "You okay there? You're a little quiet, for you, or how you used to be at least." A self-deprecating smirk passed across his face, "You think I'd be used to this by now."

No longer caring about their friends, God knows the king had gotten enough hints from their original selves about he and Merlin's relationship, Arthur turned towards the dark haired man, a hand raising to cup his jaw.

This time the knocking was tentative, and everyone in the room froze knowing immediately who it must be. The image of the feisty co-owner of The Camelot Agency was warring with the vengeful, bitter memory of the dead witch as the occupants of the apartment seemed to hold their breath.

Arthur took the lead, opening the door to Leon and Morgana, the latter hanging back behind her boyfriend, the closest to hiding she would let herself do.

"Hey sis, you'll never guess who M. Emerson really was," His voice cracked a bit and the woman's wince made it clear she noticed. Still he was trying, even as he forced himself to ignore the ghost of a cruelly smirking Morgana taunting him from the corner of his eye.

Morgana leaned around him and smiled, "Merlin, it is good to see you well."

The dark haired man waved, his smile completely genuine. "Good to see you my friend, it has been much too long."

Morgana's eyes became a little watery, she had known Merlin must be the catalyst and hadn't wanted to admit that after Arthur, she was most worried about his reaction.

The dark haired woman pressed a quick kiss to Leon's cheek before taking Arthur aside with the request for a private conversation. Merlin didn't do her the disservice of flinching but there was an unavoidable rise in the tension of the room when the former witch took the king she'd done her best to depose out of the room.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

"Arthur, I, I'm sorry. I know that is not nearly enough and there's no way to fix what I did to you, to Uther. I just, I don't know... it was like the anger was all I could focus on." Morgana bit her lip and looked up at him and the double vision fled. All he saw was his sister, the woman who teased him all his life and later dragged him into a business proposition that had given him everything he could ever want in his life, including bringing Merlin back to him.

"Stop it. Or at least let me apologize too."

"What? Why should you, no it's my fault."

The blond man cupped his hand over his impetuous sister's mouth and uttered two words he never thought he'd say to her and live to tell the tale, "Shut up," and followed it up with two other very dangerous words, "and listen."

Summoning up the authority of a king whose legacy would last until the end of time and the CEO who constantly made headlines as one to watch, Arthur made his sister listen to the apology he had been saving up since he got the last glimpse of a broken woman who had lost everything.

"Morgana, you were my friend and sister even before we knew we shared blood. We… I should have noticed. After you disappeared, when we got you back you were never the same. You weren't always polite in life but you were never cruel, and I know that because I was… often cruel, a fact Merlin was not afraid to shove in my face. But you were the conscience of our duo and then all of a sudden you weren't and it was my job to see that, to realize that something happened. I should have done more, I should have asked more questions, gone to Gaius, anything to get to the truth. I want, no I need you to forgive me, please."

Morgana paused, wondering if she had ever, in either life, heard her brother say please like that, like he was begging her. She looked into his eyes and saw the king and the man and most of all she saw her brother.

"Of course I forgive you, clotpole." She drew him into a brief hug even as he grumbled about her ruining the moment. "Come on, let's get out there before the others decide I've done away with you again."

She walked ahead of him, pausing at the door before turning and chuckling, "Oh, and don't think for a moment I didn't notice the hickey on Merlin's neck. Anything you want to tell me about everyone's favorite warlock?"

Arthur stopped, sure he had a deer-in-the-headlights look on his face as he watched curly dark hair leave the room.  _Well some things never change,_  he walked out shaking his head, _sisters._

As he looked up, Gwen had already tugged Morgana into a hug and LJ and Leon were laughing uproariously at something. His eyes caught Merlin's and they had one of those conversations without talking they were so good at. Warm blue eyes held love and amusement all at once along with permission, a slight head nod reassured Arthur he was reading the warlock correctly.

Happiness flooded through him as he covered the room in three strides grasping Merlin's hand before turning to the group. They all stared, wondering what had gotten into their fearless leader now. After opening his mouth and closing it just as quickly a few times, Arthur gave up trying to find the words. He spun Merlin into him and gently cradled the dark head in his hands before kissing him soundly.

Merlin's lips were very distracting but Arthur was well aware more than one of their friends breathed out a "Finally!" that was just a tad condescending considering none of them had the most perfect love life, okay Gwen and LJ were close.

The hoots and cat calls got louder as the two men became a little lost in the kiss. Morgana, always the bravest of the lot, was the one to finally tear them away from each other and remind them that they had guests, and no they weren't going to come back later so keep your pants on, literally.

The group gathered around Arthur's ridiculously large table and the next few hours were lost to bagels and conversation. Merlin caught everyone up on this round of his life and then the rest filled him in on their's. Merlin was perplexed as to how they didn't realize, The Camelot Agency, Arthur etc. that was a lot of coincidences. Morgana and Gwen both pointed out that reincarnation wasn't exactly a popular belief and he didn't count because he knew the whole time.

Gwen finally took pity on Arthur and Merlin, whose longing glances across the table were getting more and more pathetic as time passed, and dragged everyone away extracting promises from the newest couple to surface at least once in the next few days and provide some signs of life before declaring it a vacation week at The Camelot Agency. Morgana laughingly protested Gwen's hostile take over before giving in after Leon had the wisdom to whisper a few suggestions for their downtime in her ear.

Merlin was the one dragging Arthur to the bedroom this time, threatening to magic the door against well meaning friends if they were interrupted anytime in the next week. Arthur decided to revisit the issue of whether Merlin was being serious or not about the current state of his gift and instead focus on the feeling of lips attached to the sweet spot on his neck as he gave into his lover's attentions.

/

The double vision faded gradually, although they realized that those memories would never completely disappear it was easier to live solely in the present. Little things reminded them of their legendary pasts, Merlin laughed for ten minutes straight when he found out that the former king's favorite workout involved broadswords. He only stopped laughing when Arthur smacked him in the ass with the flat side of the sword, staring incredulously at the blond man before grabbing an extra practice blade and showing his king exactly what a few thousand lifetimes had taught him about swordplay.

Arthur got back at his partner when he found a series of essays debunking many popular, and very wrong, Arthurian myths and the guilt in Merlin's eyes gave him away. The former king merely laughed and pulled him into the bedroom to demonstrate exactly how wrong some of those stories had been, no offense meant to Gwen but he'd take tall, dark and manly-ish anytime.

Overall life wasn't perfect, but it was happy and every time Arthur laid in bed curled around  _his_  warlock he whispered words of thanks like prayers, and wrapped his arms even tighter around the man who'd braved millennia to return to him.  _Merlin,_  he breathed into the dark haired man's neck, sighing in contentment when the other man shifted closer and echoed him,  _Arthur._


End file.
